Iran’s Raisi and Saudi’s Salman to Trade Visits

Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi has invited Saudi Arabia’s king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to visit Tehran, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani announced on Monday. King Salman had previously invited Raisi to visit Riyadh, Kanani said.

Kanani also revealed that the embassies of Iran and Saudi Arabia are scheduled to reopen on May 9, marking the resumption of relations between the two countries after a seven-year hiatus. He also said that direct political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia had been reestablished and the two countries were actively working on reopening other consular offices.

The reconciliation had been mediated by China on March 10. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are now working towards implementing comprehensive agreements that were signed years ago, according to Kanani. The agreements cover cooperation in economic, commercial, sports, and security affairs. The spokesman stressed that the "relationship between the two countries is independent and not connected to the JCPOA [nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries] but rather based on the common interests of the region.”

Tensions have been high between Tehran and Riyadh – a key American ally – for years. The Sunni-ruled Saudi kingdom severed ties with the Shia-majority Iran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic posts in the country. The demonstrations had been triggered by the execution of a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia. The American withdrawal from the JCPOA deal in 2018 also increased tensions in the region.

The Islamic Republic has also been blamed for a series of recent attacks across the Middle East, including one that targeted Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the country’s crude production.